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Authors: Charlotte Montague
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Super senses
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Another odd characteristic of the vampire, as it appears in ancient folklore, was that it had a very sensitive sense of smell. For this reason, garlic was said to ward off vampires â they simply could not bear the smell. During church services, garlic would be handed out to ensure that no evil spirits were present. Garlic was also hung outside the doorways of houses, and used extensively in the kitchen, as it was thought to have strong purifying properties. The faith in the healing powers of garlic was so strong that ordinary people who had an aversion to garlic were thought of as highly suspect, and in some cases might even be persecuted as vampires themselves.
The vampireâs sense of smell was so sensitive, it was thought, that it could detect the scent of a sleeping personâs blood from a long way off, and make its way towards it using its nose as a guide. This idea, too, has some basis in the natural world, in that it may have been derived from observing the behaviour of animals. Many animals, including wolves, dogs, and certain species of bat, are able to sniff out a live animal or a corpse, follow its trail, and find it. Given that the vampire was conceived of as a creature which subsisted on the blood of live human beings, it is not surprising that people would imagine it to have a very refined sense of smell, and be able, like wolves and bats, to hunt down its victims.
In addition to its powerful sense of smell, the vampire was thought in some cultures to have enhanced vision, so that it could see and track victims in the dark, often from miles away. Once again, while this seems an entirely fanciful notion, it did have some basis of reality in nature. Owls, for example, have very strong night vision, allowing them to hunt in darkness.
Vampires were also thought to have a highly developed sense of hearing, rather like bats, whose sensitive ears help them to pinpoint their prey by means of echolocation. Vampire bats also have heat sensors, allowing them to sense blood near the surface of the victimâs skin, and this may explain why in some versions of the legend, vampires can stalk their victims by means of infra-red heat sensors.
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Super powers
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In some versions of the mythology, vampires are able to turn themselves into bats, wolves, or other animals at will. Vampires may also become foxes, rats, and moths, or transform themselves into vapours, allowing them to slip through cracks under a door or a window. They are also, in some legends, able to vanish, or to live side by side with human beings as invisible presences. According to some tales, as they grow older, they become stronger, and can reach a point where their strength is that of ten men. They may also be able to travel very fast, at superhuman speeds, that make it impossible to see them with the naked eye, or disappear from one place and appear in another.
Vampires are also said to be able to hypnotize their victims before attacking them. Their ability to do this depends on the victimâs own strength of will. After the attack, vampires may hypnotize their victims to forget what happened.
Another bizarre feature of the vampire is their ability to withstand many forms of attack. They cannot be killed with knives, guns, or sticks. (An exception may be made if the gun is loaded with silver bullets, and in early times, a corpse might be shot through with a silver bullet to make sure the inhabitant was well and truly dead.) The only well-established way to eradicate vampires entirely, according to folklore, is to pierce them with a stake, cut out their hearts, cut off their heads, and burn their bodies to ashes. This is necessary because vampires, so we are told, regenerate themselves very quickly. If they are wounded, their injuries will heal overnight, and may do so even more quickly if they find a victim whose body they can drain entirely of blood.
Finally, in some versions of the
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Super senses
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Another odd characteristic of the vampire, as it appears in ancient folklore, was that it had a very sensitive sense of smell. For this reason, garlic was said to ward off vampires â they simply could not bear the smell. During church services, garlic would be handed out to ensure that no evil spirits were present. Garlic was also hung outside the doorways of houses, and used extensively in the kitchen, as it was thought to have strong purifying properties. The faith in the healing powers of garlic was so strong that ordinary people who had an aversion to garlic were thought of as highly suspect, and in some cases might even be persecuted as vampires themselves.
The vampireâs sense of smell was so sensitive, it was thought, that it could detect the scent of a sleeping personâs blood from a long way off, and make its way towards it using its nose as a guide. This idea, too, has some basis in the natural world, in that it may have been derived from observing the behaviour of animals. Many animals, including wolves, dogs, and certain species of bat, are able to sniff out a live animal or a corpse, follow its trail, and find it. Given that the vampire was conceived of as a creature which subsisted on the blood of live human beings, it is not surprising that people would imagine it to have a very refined sense of smell, and be able, like wolves and bats, to hunt down its victims.
In addition to its powerful sense of smell, the vampire was thought in some cultures to have enhanced vision, so that it could see and track victims in the dark, often from miles away. Once again, while this seems an entirely fanciful notion, it did have some basis of reality in nature. Owls, for example, have very strong night vision, allowing them to hunt in darkness.
Vampires were also thought to have a highly developed sense of hearing, rather like bats, whose sensitive ears help them to pinpoint their prey by means of echolocation. Vampire bats also have heat sensors, allowing them to sense blood near the surface of the victimâs skin, and this may explain why in some versions of the legend, vampires can stalk their victims by means of infra-red heat sensors.
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Super powers
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In some versions of the mythology, vampires are able to turn themselves into bats, wolves, or other animals at will. Vampires may also become foxes, rats, and moths, or transform themselves into vapours, allowing them to slip through cracks under a door or a window. They are also, in some legends, able to vanish, or to live side by side with human beings as invisible presences. According to some tales, as they grow older, they become stronger, and can reach a point where their strength is that of ten men. They may also be able to travel very fast, at superhuman speeds, that make it impossible to see them with the naked eye, or disappear from one place and appear in another.
Vampires are also said to be able to hypnotize their victims before attacking them. Their ability to do this depends on the victimâs own strength of will. After the attack, vampires may hypnotize their victims to forget what happened.
Another bizarre feature of the vampire is their ability to withstand many forms of attack. They cannot be killed with knives, guns, or sticks. (An exception may be made if the gun is loaded with silver bullets, and in early times, a corpse might be shot through with a silver bullet to make sure the inhabitant was well and truly dead.) The only well-established way to eradicate vampires entirely, according to folklore, is to pierce them with a stake, cut out their hearts, cut off their heads, and burn their bodies to ashes. This is necessary because vampires, so we are told, regenerate themselves very quickly. If they are wounded, their injuries will heal overnight, and may do so even more quickly if they find a victim whose body they can drain entirely of blood.
Finally, in some versions of the
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